UCLA Football: Who Should Win the Starting QB Job?

The prospects of the upcoming season for the UCLA Bruins are hinging upon quarterback play. 

Heading into the summer, no starting quarterback has been named.

The candidates for the job? Two experienced seniors plagued by injury and inconsistency and a redshirt freshman with absolutely no game experience on the college level.

This isn't exactly the ideal scenario for a program trying to rid itself of perpetual mediocrity.

Let's be frank, the quarterback position has been a revolving black hole for years. There's been no semblance of consistency or even adequate play. As a result, UCLA has firmly been entrenched as a middle-of-the-road football program.

In other words, irrelevant. 

Last season, the Bruins were at the bottom of the conference statistically in every major passing category.

The UCLA quarterbacks ranked second-to-last in the conference in passing yards. In addition, they were also second-to-last in pass attempts per game.

Much of this had to do with the conservative, run-heavy pistol offense. A good majority of it also was due to the lack of confidence that the coaching staff had in their signal-callers. 

So where do the Bruins turn from here? Let's take a look at the three viable candidates jockeying for the starting position.

Kevin Prince

The redshirt senior from Crespi High School in Encino, Calif. had been designated as the starter for the past three seasons. 

During that time, he's suffered through a myriad of physical ailments which, truthfully, have derailed his expected growth and development. Those injuries include a broken jaw, a torn meniscus, multiple concussions and a separated shoulder. Prince even suffered a torn ACL in high school. 

When healthy, Prince has flashed some solid play. However, he just hasn't displayed the consistency to make him a satisfactory starter at the college level.

His arm strength isn't stellar by any means, and the decision making has been quite puzzling at times.

One aspect that Prince perhaps has an advantage in is his overall athleticism. For a man his size (6'2", 230), he can move really well up the field. He isn't the most elusive player in the world, but he can definitely out-run defenders on draws and option reads up the field. 

Prince does have a wonderful work ethic. His commitment to the football team has always been top-notch, and his display of leadership skills make him a highly respected member of the team. 

Richard Brehaut

Dissimilar to Prince, Brehaut's commitment to the football team has been called into question multiple times. 

He's dabbled in playing with the baseball team, and up until this spring, he hasn't been available for an entire spring period throughout his career at UCLA. 

From a talent standpoint, he's more of a pure quarterback when compared to Prince. With the two being in the same year scholastically, they've competed for the starting job head-to-head for multiple years.

Brehaut has better overall tools, but Prince displayed a maturity and a better comprehension of the playbook. This ultimately relegated Brehaut to being the backup when Prince was healthy.

When the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native did see the field, he did do some good things. Brehaut is at his best when slinging the ball down the field.

He has a much better arm than Prince and demonstrates more touch on deep throws. In essence, he throws a much more catchable ball. 

The senior does have the propensity to force things down the field. This inevitably results in turnovers that have crippled drives. 

There's no question that Brehaut has talent. He also happens to be a likable guy among his teammates. His skill set truly does fit the newly implemented spread offense, and it will be interesting to see how that translates over the summer and into the fall period.

Brett Hundley

The Chandler, Ariz. native has the most pure talent of any quarterback currently on the roster. 

A former 5-star prospect, Hundley came to UCLA when former head coach Rick Neuheisel was in charge. Hundley was seen as the perfect fit for the pistol offense. 

Well, now he'll have to be the perfect fit for the spread.

Hundley is blessed with some great physical gifts. He not only has a strong arm, but he also has considerable athleticism. More than that, he's exceptionally intelligent (Hundley is a pre-med student). 

The one knock up to this point is that Hundley has no game experience. Fortunately enough for UCLA, the spread offense isn't exactly the most intricate offense to master. 

It's predicated upon making quick decisions—getting the ball on the perimeter to skill players while also executing throws on slants and shorter patterns. 

His mobility should prove to be a wonderful asset, considering that the read-option is an element of the offense. 

The Expected Outcome

At this point, the job should be Hundley's to lose. 

Both Prince and Brehaut have been given a chance to show what they can do—and they haven't capitalized on it.

Prince has physical limitations which keep him from performing at a high level. His leadership qualities cannot be understated, but at this point he'll be more valuable on the practice field and in the locker room as opposed to on the field.

Brehaut is the biggest competitor to Hundley. He can make all the throws and has a charisma on the field that resonates with his teammates.

However, he's a senior. It makes more sense to get Hundley's feet wet as opposed to prolonging his development.

Hundley's ceiling is far higher than Prince or Brehaut's, so why should be sit on the bench? His talent is too high, and it makes sense for him to get actual game experience.

It's possible that a two-quarterback system might be put in place, but it's more likely that head coach Jim L. Mora will stick with one guy.

If anything, it's comforting in the sense that there's ample experience on the bench if Hundley does indeed struggle.